Beet-harvester.



R. R. REED,

BEETHARVESJER.

APPLICATION HLED Nov. 22, ms.

1499 63, memease t. 26,1916.

@ SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. eedv n. REED.

BEET HARVE'STER.

PPEICLTIOR nun NOV. 22. 1915.

Patented Sept. 26, 1916.

2 SHEETSSHEET 2.

ROY E. REED, OF WHEA TLAND, WYOMING.

BEET-HARVESTEB. g, i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ROY R. REED, a citizen of the United States, residing at Wheatland,

of devices which are known as pullers and oughly effective to lift or extract the beets in the county of Platte and State of Wyoming, have invented new and useful Improvements in Beet-Harvesters, of which the toppers.

The object of the present invention is to.

produce a device which will be very simple in construction so as to be capable of being produced and marketed at a very small expense, said device being, however, thor:

I from the ground, and also to detach the leafy tops therefrom.

A further object-of the invention is to pro duce a device of the character-described in which the beet lifting elements are provided with adjustable guide rods, whereby the as to be eifectively operatedon by the topping device.

A. further object of the invention is to pro-" beet lifting elements are utilized to support .a yoke or frame that constitutes the principal support for the topping device.

A further object of the invention is to simplify and improve the construction and operation of the topping device.

With these and other ends in view which will readily appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the improved construction and novel arrangement and combination of parts which will be hereinafter fully described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanyingdrawings has been illustrated a simple and preferred form of the invention, it being, however, understood that no limitation is necessarily made to the precise structural details therein exhibited, but that changes, alterations and modifica tions within the scope of the claims may be resorted to when desired.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in side elevation of a machine constructed in accordance withthe invention. Fig. 2 is a top plan view. Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectionalview. Fig. 4: is a transverse sectional view taken on the line 44 in Fig. 1. Fig.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented Sept 26,1916, Application filed November 22, 1915 Serial No. 62,872.

5 is a transverse sectional view taken on the of one of the beet lifting elements, with a portion of the standard, showing on a large scale the construction and arrangement of the lifting rod. Fig. 8 is a sectional detail 'view taken on the line 88 in Fig. 7. Fig.

9 is a perspective detail view of one of the wedge blocks for adjusting the guide rods.

Corresponding partsin the several figures are denoted by like characters of reference.

The frame of the improved machine may be of rectangular or other convenient shape, said frame having been shown as being composed of side members 15 and front and rear members 17,18. Guides or keepers 19 on the inner faces ofthe side members, near the front ends thereof, support vertically fslidable shanks 20 on the lower ends of which ground wheels 21 are supported for rotation, said shanks being actuated in a downward direction by the tension of coiled springs 22, beets will be lifted to the desired height so whereby the ground wheels are kept 1n ground engaging positions at all times, and in the various positions that may be assumed by the frame when the machine is in operation. Stop members 23 serve to limit ards 25 carrying at their lower ends the diggers or beet lifting elements 26 which have been shown as being of the conventional wedge-shaped construction. Pivotally mounted on the inner faces of the lifters 26 are guide rods or guide bars 27 for the vertical adjustment of which supporting 'blocks 28 are provided, said supporting blocks having been shown as consisting of wedge-shaped elements each having a longitudinal slot 29 engaging a headed stud 30 on the inner face of the lifter 26 and 'slid-- able toward and from the pivotal supporting member 31, whereby the guide rod 27 is'connected with said lifter near the front end thereof. The guide rod 27 being supported on the wedge-block 28, it follows that the free end of said guide rod will be raised or lowered according to whether the wedgeblock is moved toward or from the ivotal support 31. Each supporting mem or or wedge-block 28 is preferably provided with a flange 32 that serves to confine the guide rod and to maintain it in contact with the inner face of the lifting member with which it is connected. The upper side wall of the slot 29 of each wedge-block may be toothed or serrated, as shown at 33, for engagement with the headed pin or stud 30, the purpose of the teeth 33 being to prevent accidental displacement of the wedge-block from the position to which it has been adjusted. It will be readily seen that by this simple construction the guide rods of the lifting elements may be conveniently adjusted. prior to the beginning of operations to the most advantageous position for successful operation on the crop that is to be harvested.

The standards 25, in addition to carrying the lifting elements 26, are utilized to support a rearwardly extending U-shaped bracket or yoke 34, the forward ends of the limbs of which are pivotally connected with boxes or bearing members 38 on said limb;

The horizontal limb 39 of the bracket B carries a box or bearing 40 forming one support for a vertical shaft 41, the lower end of which is stepped in one of the limbs or side members of the yoke 34, said vertical shaft being thus supported for rotation. The shafts 37 and 41 are provided with intermeshing bevel gears 42, 43, and the horizontal shaft 37 is equipped with a sprocket wheel 44 from which a chain 45 is trained over a sprocket 46 associated with one ofthe ground wheels 21 from which rotary motion will thus be transmitted to the shafts 37 and 41. The bevel gear 43 on the vertical shaft 41 is in slidable engagement with said shaft, the latter being of non-circular cross section 7 through the greater portion of its length, said shaft being thus connected for rotation with the bevel gear 43, which latter is supported on the horizontal limb 39 of the L-shaped bracket B. The shaft 41 carries at its lower end a plurality of radially extending cutting blades 47 which are adapted to sweep over the rearward portion of the U-shaped bracket or yoke 34, which latter cooperates with the cutting blades to exercise a shearlike action, the cutter carrying shaft being normally forced in a downward direction by the action of a spring 48.

The frame of the machine is provided hind the machine.

with handles 49, whereby it may be conveniently guided by the operator, who, in practice, walks behind the machine guiding it after the fashion of an ordinary plow.

From the foregoing description, taken in connection with the drawings hereto annexed, the operation and advantages of this invention will be readily understood. The diggers or lifting elements are guided adjacent to opposite sides of the row of beets, the roots being engaged by the lifters and elevated from the ground, the dirt being loosened and crumbled by the action of the diggers so as to facilitate the lifting of the beets; The latter, as the machine progresses, are farther projected in an upward direction by the action of the guide rods 27 which have been previously adjusted to the most advantageous position according to the average size of the beets that are being harvested. As the machine passes along the beet roots will pass beneath the limbs of the U-shaped yoke or bracket which will yield upwardly against the tension of the springs 48, under the upward pressure exerted by large beets. The pressure of the springs 48 Wlll constantly maintain the yoke-and the cutting apparatus carried thereby in engagement with the upper portions of the beet roots, irrespective of the size of the latter. The leafy tops will pass between said limbs and extend upwardly therefrom until engaged by the rotary cutting device,

the blades of which will serve to. detach the leafy tops and throw them to one side of the machine, while the beets are dropped be- The cutter carrying shaft 41 being actuated downwardly by the spring 48 will be capable of rising to some extent whenever large beets are encountered, thereby avoiding the cutting of valuable substance from the upper portions of such beets.

It will be seen from the foregoingthat I have produced a very simple machine capable of lifting and topping the beets at a single operation, the beets being left in convenient position for subsequent gathering.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed as new, is

1. In a device of the class described, a beet lifter, a guide rod pivotally supported on the inner face of the same, a headed stud below the guide rod, and a longitudinally slotted wedge block engaging said stud to support the lifting rod in various positions.

2. In a device of the class described, a beet lifter, a guide rod pivotally supported on the inner face of the same, a headed stud below the guide rod, and a longitudinally slotted wedge block engaging said stud to support the lifting rod in various positions, said wedge block having a flange to confine the lifting rod in juxtaposition to the inner face of the lifter.

3. In a device of the class described, a beet lifter, a guide rod pivotally supported on the inner face of the same, a headed stud below the guide rod, and a longitudinally slotted wedge block engaging said stud to support the lifting rod in various positions, the slot of said wedge block being provided with teeth on the'upper side wall thereof to engage the headed stud on which it is slidably mounted.

4. In a device of the class described, a frame, downwardly convergent standards, beet lifting elements at the lower ends of the standards, a U-shaped bracket pivoted on the standards above the lifters and extending rearwardly with respect to the standards,

frame, standards connected with said frame and carrying beet lifting elements at their lower ends, a U-shaped bracket pivoted on the standards above the lifters and extending rearwardly with respect. to the stand ards, said bracket having a limited downward movement at its rear end, a vertically slidable downwardly spring-actuated cutter shaft having its lower end supported on the bracket, and means for driving said shaft.

7. In a device of the class described, a frame, standards connected with said frame and having downwardly convergent portions, beet lifting elements at the lower ends of the standards, a U-shaped bracket pivoted on the convergent portions of the standards above the lifters and extending rearwardly with respect to said standards, said bracket being supported by the convergent portions of the standards to limit the downward movement of its rearward portion, a vertically slidable downwardly spring actuated cutter carrying shaft having its lower end stepped on the U-shaped bracket, and means for driving said shaft.

8. In a device of the class described, a frame, ground engaging wheels at the forward end of the frame, downwardly con-. vergent standards near the rearward end of the frame, lifters carried by the standards, a rearwardly extending yoke pivotally supported by the standards above the lifters, a cross bar near the rearward end of the frame, an L-shaped bracket supported by said cross bar, the vertical and horizontal limbs of said bracket being provided with; bearing members, a horizontal shaft supported for rotation in the bearing members on the vertical limb, a vertical shaft supported for rotation in the bearing member on'the horizontal limb, the lower end of said shaft being supported on the rearwardly extending yoke, radial cutters carried by the vertical shaft, a spring actuating the vertical shaft in a downward direction, intermediatebevel gears on the vertical and horizontal shafts, and means for transmitting motion from a ground wheel to the horizontal shaft; the vertical shaft having a non-circular portion slidably engaging the bevel gear on said shaft.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

ROY R. REED.

Witnesses:

CHAS. G. BUECHNER, KENT SNYDER. 

